Metal-containing catalysts have been described in bleach compositions, including manganese-containing catalysts such as those described in EP 549,271; EP 549,272; EP 458,397; U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,594; U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,621; EP 458,398; U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,416; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,611. These bleach catalysts are described as being active for catalyzing the bleaching action of peroxy compounds against various stains. Several of these bleaching systems are said to be effective for use in washing and bleaching of substrates, including laundry and hard surfaces (such as machine dishwashing, general cleaning) and in the textile, paper and wood pulp industries.
It has been discovered that these metal-containing bleach catalysts, especially the manganese-containing catalysts, have the particularly undesirable property, when used with textiles, of damaging the fabric resulting in loss of tensile strength of the fibers and/or producing color damage to the fabric. Obviously, such properties for compositions is a great drawback to the general use of these compositions in the laundry area.
By the present invention, large pore size redox catalysts are included in laundry and cleaning products to provide dye transfer inhibition benefits and/or to catalyze peracid bleaching without accompanying fabric damage. The catalysts are also compatible with enzymes in such compositions. These and other advantages of the present invention will be seen from the disclosures hereinafter.